Microsoft Launching Minecraft Online Store With Curated Community Goods For PC And Mobile

This spring, Microsoft is going to be launching a brand new online store for its ultra-popular Minecraft world builder. There are multiple goals that can be accomplished through this new portal: fans will have a lot of great new content to play, and community members who produce good content could reap the benefits of being featured on the store.

One thing that will make this online store different from most is the fact that all of the content is curated, meaning that not just anyone can produce content and expect it to appear there. Ultimately, this is a very good thing, as it means that the content available is guaranteed to be of good quality.

As it appears right now, nothing on this store is going to be given away for free, so the countless number of mods out there are not going to be found here. One other thing that might rub some blockheads the wrong way is that using the store will require you to adopt yet another currency, called Minecraft Coins, which of course is exchanged for real currency. With those digital coins, you can purchase skin packs, texture packs, or entire worlds. Unfortunately, there will be no way to earn this currency other than to pay for it.

Ultimately, the Minecraft online store is a great way for fans to buy certified content, which in turn supports the community and promotes further development. It looks to be a win / win all-around. Well, except for the little fact that the marketplace will be exclusive to mobile and the PC, at least for now. There's been no confirmation made that the update could hit consoles, but it seems overwhelmingly likely that it would happen, as there would be huge demand for it (and it'll also no doubt become a big money-maker for Microsoft).

If you're anxious to dive right into this marketplace, and happen to run Android, you can expect to see the first beta become available towards the middle of this month.